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Censure in the United States is a congressional procedure for reprimanding the President of the United States or a member of Congress for inappropriate behaviour. News and other media often use the term "censure" incorrectly, confusing their viewers. When used to condemn the President, however, it serves merely as a condemnation and has no direct effect on the validity of presidency. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... To suggest a relevant news story for the main page, refer to the criteria then add your suggestion at the candidates page. ... This article concerns the legal meaning of the term resolution. ... The presidential seal was first used by president Hayes in 1880 and last modified in 1959 by adding the 50th star for Hawaii. ... Congress in Joint Session. ... Censure is a process by which a formal reprimand is issued to an individual by an authoritative body. ...

Congressional Practice

Unlike impeachment, censure has no basis in the constitution, or in the rules of the Senate and House of Representatives. It derives from the formal condemnation of either congressional body of their own members. Depiction of the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson, then President of the United States, in 1868. ... The House of Representatives is the larger of two houses that make up the U.S. Congress, the other being the United States Senate. ... The chamber of the United States House of Representatives is located in the south wing of the Capitol building, in Washington, D.C.. This photograph shows a rare glimpse of the four vote tallying boards (the blackish squares across the top), which display each members name and vote as...

Only one U.S. president has been censured. In 1834, while under Whig control, the Senate censured Democratic President Andrew Jackson for withholding documents. As a partial result of public opposition to the censure itself, the Senate came under control of the Democratic Party in the next election cycle, and the censure was expunged in 1837. 1834 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Whig Party banner from 1848 with candidates Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore. ... The Democratic Party is one of two major political parties in the United States, the other one being the Republican Party. ... Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845), was the seventh President of the United States (1829-1837), hero of the Battle of New Orleans (1815), a founder of the Democratic Party, and the eponym of the era of Jacksonian democracy. ... | Queen Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom (1837 - 1901) 1837 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

Though no framework for the process of censuring a President exists, it would likely come in the form of a concurrent resolution between both chambers, and then a public announcement. It would carry no legal effect but would probably be damaging to the president's image. There was talk of censuring President Bill Clinton in the wake of the Monica Lewinsky scandal, but ultimately full impeachment was pursued instead. Many constitutional experts hold that motions to censure the President violate the Consitutions prohibition on bills of attainder.^{[citation needed]} In the United States a concurrent resolution is a legislative measure, designated S. Con. ... William Jefferson Bill Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. ... While working as an intern at the White House, Monica Lewinsky had a short-term sexual relationship with President Bill Clinton. ... A bill of attainder (also known as an act or writ of attainder) was an act of legislature declaring a person or group of persons guilty of some crime, and punishing them, without benefit of a trial. ...

High Profile Cases

Andrew Jackson

The U.S. Senate censured Jackson on March 27, 1834 for his actions in defunding the Bank of the United States; the censure was later expunged when the Jacksonians had a majority in the Senate. Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845), was the seventh President of the United States (1829-1837), hero of the Battle of New Orleans (1815), a founder of the Democratic Party, and the eponym of the era of Jacksonian democracy. ... Seal of the Senate The United States Senate is one of the two chambers of the Congress of the United States, the other being the House of Representatives. ... Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845), was the seventh President of the United States (1829-1837), hero of the Battle of New Orleans (1815), a founder of the Democratic Party, and the eponym of the era of Jacksonian democracy. ... 1834 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... The Second Bank of the United States was founded in 1816, five years after the expiration of the First Bank of the United States out of desperation to stabilize the currency. ...

Joseph McCarthy

On December 2, 1954, Senator Joseph McCarthy (R-WI) was censured by the United States Senate for behavior that was “contrary to senatorial traditions." McCarthy had recklessly accused employees of the U.S. government of membership in the communist party, or of communist sympathies. McCarthy's efforts did not result in any convictions or criminal prosecutions for espionage. Ironically, however, intercepted Soviet communications from the now-declassified VENONA project, as well as the opening of Soviet Archives, indicate that some of the individuals he pursued were, in fact, Soviet spies or Communist sympathizers. Joseph Raymond McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was a Republican Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 to 1957. ... 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Joseph Raymond McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was a Republican Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 to 1957. ... The VENONA project was a long-running and highly secret collaboration between the United States intelligence agencies and the United Kingdoms MI5 that involved the cryptanalysis of Soviet messages. ...

Charles H. Wilson

On June 10, 1980, Rep. Charles H. Wilson (D-CA) was censured for "financial misconduct" as a result of the "Koreagate" scandal of 1976. Koreagate was an American political scandal involving South Koreans seeking influence with members of Congress. An immediate goal seems to have been reversing President Richard Nixon's decision to withdraw troops from South Korea. It involved the KCIA (now National Intelligence Service (South Korea)) funnelling bribes and favors through Korean businessman Tongsun Park in an attempt to gain favor and influence. Some 115 members of Congress were implicated. Also investigated were Sun Myung Moon and his Unification Church. Charles Herbert Wilson (February 15, 1917-July 21, 1984) was a California congressman from the Los Angeles area. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... Charles Herbert Wilson (February 15, 1917-July 21, 1984) was a California congressman from the Los Angeles area. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ...

Bill Clinton

In 1998, censure was proposed by Democrats as an alternative to impeachment for the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Public opinion polls at the time indicated that the majority of Americans preferred censure versus impeachment. William Jefferson Bill Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... Depiction of the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson, then President of the United States, in 1868. ...

George W. Bush

In 2004, there were calls for censure of President George W. Bush from groups such as MoveOn.org for allegedly lying to Congress with regard to weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), during the build up to the invasion of Iraq of 2003. These calls were largely ignored by a Republican-controlled Congress, headed by House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. The censure movement from MoveOn.org also failed to find support among the Democratic leadership, that being Minority House Leader Nancy Pelosi, and Minority Senate Leader Tom Daschle. George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the 43rd and current President of the United States. ... It has been designated the: International Year of Rice (by the United Nations) International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO) 2004 World Health Day topic was Road Safety (by World Health Organization) Year of the Monkey (by the Chinese calendar) See the world in... George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the 43rd and current President of the United States. ... A group of MoveOn volunteers helped the get-out-the-vote drive in Cincinnati in the run-up to the 2004 U.S. presidential election. ... Weapons of mass destruction (WMD) generally include nuclear, biological, chemical and, increasingly, radiological weapons. ... Combatants Coalition Forces (United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Poland) Iraq Commanders Tommy Franks Saddam Hussein Strength 263,000 375,000 The 2003 Invasion of Iraq began on March 20 and consisted mainly of United States and United Kingdom forces. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Majority Leader of the United States House of Representatives acts as the leader of the party that has a majority control of the seats in the house (at least 218 of the 435 seats). ... Thomas Dale DeLay (born April 8, 1947) is a politician from Sugar Land, Texas and a prominent Republican. ... The Senate Majority Leader is a member of the United States Senate who is elected by his or her party conference to serve as the chief Senate spokesman for his or her party and to manage and schedule the legislative and executive business of the Senate. ... William Harrison Frist (born February 22, 1952 in Nashville, Tennessee) is a Republican U.S. Senator from Tennessee, a cardiac surgeon, and a former kitten killer. ...

On December 18, 2005 Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) introduced a motion to censure President Bush and Vice President Cheney for misstating and manipulating intelligence to Congress and the public during the run-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq and not following Executive Order 12958, as well as failing to respond to written congressional queries on these allegations. 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... John Conyers John Conyers, Jr. ... Richard Bruce Dick Cheney (born January 30, 1941), is currently (since 2001) the 46th Vice President of the United States under President George W. Bush. ... In 1995, President Bill Clinton signed Executive Order 12958 which created tough new standards for the process of classifying documents and led to an unprecedented effort to declassify millions of pages from the U.S. diplomatic and national security history. ...

On March 13, 2006, Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) introduced a resolution in the U.S. Senate calling for a censure of President George W. Bush. [1] [2] This was a result of allegations of illegal wiretapping, as reported in the New York Times, that the President did not follow the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA), which mandates use of a surveillance court for approval of wiretaps on Americans. In its history, the court has understood the request for intelligence and in only rare instances has turned down a request. The U.S. Senate has not yet voted on the resolution, as it first needs to be considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Then, it may or may not be sent to the floor of the U.S. Senate for a vote. 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Russell Dana Feingold (born March 2, 1953) is an American politician from the U.S. state of Wisconsin. ... George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the 43rd and current President of the United States. ... FISA may be: Federation Internationale des Societes Aerophilateliques (International Federation of Aerophilatelic Societies) Fédération Internationale des Sociétés dAviron (International Federation of Rowing Associations) Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (Historically a subsidiary body of the FIA) Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a statute in the...

See also

• Impeachment

Depiction of the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson, then President of the United States, in 1868. ...

External links

• Text of Feingold censure resolution
• Feingold press release on his censure
• Feingold's remarks when he introduced the resolution